THE PASSENGER PIGEON KALM AND AUDUBON. 413 



suitable quarters and industriously fed, whereupon they are killed 

 and eaten. To make doubly sure that they do not escape, one 

 of their wings is generally cut short, so that even in case they do 

 get out they can not fly away. Such nestlings-have a good appetite, 

 thrive comfortably, become quite tame, and within a short time, if 

 well taken care of, accumulate so much fat that they afford a most 

 palatable dish. 



For food these pigeons select the following fruits, which I will 

 name in the order that they mature : 



Seeds of the red-flowered maple (Acer); these mature in Penn- 

 sylvania at the end of May, but somewhat later farther north. 



Seeds of the American elm ( Ulmus americana) ; these mature in 

 Pennsylvania in the beginning or middle of June, but farther north 

 somewhat later. When on our journey through the wilds between 

 Albany and Canada we cut up some of the pigeons which the French 

 had shot and given us, their crops were generally found to be full of 

 elm seeds. 



Mulberries, which ripen in Pennsylvania in the beginning of June 

 (new style), are relished by these pigeons almost above everything 

 else. During my stay in the last-mentioned locality, in 1750, I 

 noticed that as soon as the mulberries became ripe the pigeons put 

 in their appearance in great numbers. Wherever a mulberry tree 

 grew wild it was at this time generally full of pigeons, which devoured 

 the berries. They often caused me much vexation, because if I had 

 located a mulberry tree in the woods with the intention of securing 

 seeds when the berries became ripe and it should happen that I did 

 not watch out for the proper time, the pigeons had generally, in the 

 meanwhile, been so industrious in their picking that on my arrival 

 scarcely a single berry was left. If some of them were shot the others 

 generally flew away a little distance, but returned within a few 

 minutes to the same mulberry tree; so that a person who owned 

 such trees found no difficulty to obtain daily a sufficient quantity of 

 choice meat as long as the mulberries lasted. 



They consume all lands of grain with the single exception of corn, 

 which is left untouched by them, although it has other enemies. 

 I noticed that they were particularly fond of the following lands of 

 grain : 



They ate rye, although not with particular avidity, but rather 

 as if in the absence of something else more palatable. Some persons 

 assured me that they had seen with their own eyes how these pigeons, 

 during summer time, when they had come to a ripe wheat field, 

 alighted on the fences, vomited up the rye on which they had pre- 

 viously feasted, and then swooped down upon the wheat field, where 

 they gorged their crops with wheat, as being more appetizing. 



